Local Tax Act

The competent tax collection official may, with their consent and obtaining a custody receipt, have the owner or possessor, or another person whom the competent tax collection official considers appropriate, keep retained articles, seized articles or articles seized with a recording order that are inconvenient to transport or keep.

Where retained articles or seized articles have decayed or deteriorated, or there is a risk of decay or deterioration, the head of a local government may, as provided by Cabinet Order, put them up for public sale after public notice and deposit the proceeds.

When there is no longer a need to detain retained articles, seized articles or articles seized with a recording order, the competent tax collection official must return them to the person entitled to receive their return.

Where the head of a local government cannot return the retained articles, seized articles or articles seized with a recording order referred to in the preceding paragraph because the address or residence of the person entitled to receive their return is unknown, or for any other reason, the head must give public notice to that effect.

If no request for return is made even after six months have elapsed from the day of the public notice with regard to the retained articles, seized articles or articles seized with a recording order relating to the public notice under the preceding paragraph, those articles revert to the local government to which the competent tax collection official who effected the retention, seizure or seizure with a recording order of them belongs.

Where there is no longer a need to detain a recording medium that the competent tax collection official has seized after transferring, or causing to be transferred, an electronic or magnetic record pursuant to Article 22-8, if the person subject to the seizure differs from the owner, possessor or custodian of that recording medium, the official must deliver that recording medium to the person subject to the seizure, or permit that person to copy the electronic or magnetic record.

The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the delivery or copying pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

If no request is made for the delivery or copying under the provisions of paragraph (1) even after six months have elapsed since the day of the public notice under the provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph, it is not required that the delivery be made or the copying be permitted.

When necessary for investigating a criminal tax case, the competent tax collection official may commission a person with knowledge and experience to conduct an expert examination of retained articles, seized articles or articles seized with a recording order, or commission interpretation or translation.

A person commissioned to conduct an expert examination under the preceding paragraph (referred to as an "expert" in paragraphs (4) and (5)) may, with the permission of a judge of the district court or summary court having jurisdiction over the location of the office of the local government to which the competent tax collection official referred to in the preceding paragraph belongs, destroy the article relating to that examination.

The request for permission under the preceding paragraph must be made by the competent tax collection official.

When a request under the preceding paragraph has been made, if a judge of the district court or summary court finds the request appropriate, the judge must deliver to the competent tax collection official a warrant stating the name of the suspect (for a corporation, its name), the name of the offense, the article to be destroyed, the name of the expert, the official title and name of the requester, the validity period, a statement that execution may not be commenced after that period has elapsed and the warrant must be returned, the date of issuance and the name of the court, and bearing the judge's name and seal.

The expert must show the warrant set forth in the preceding paragraph to the person subject to the disposition set forth in paragraph (2).

The competent tax collection official must not carry out an inspection, search, seizure or seizure with a recording order between sunset and sunrise unless the warrant states that execution is permitted even at night. However, this does not apply where a disposition is made under Article 22-7, or where, with regard to light oil delivery tax or any other local tax specified by Cabinet Order, these dispositions are made at night at a place that the public may enter and leave even at night, during the hours it is open to the public.

When the competent tax collection official considers it necessary, the official may continue an inspection, search, seizure or seizure with a recording order commenced before sunset until after sunset.

While conducting questioning, examination, retention, inspection, search, seizure or seizure with a recording order pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection, the competent tax collection official may prohibit any person from entering or leaving the place without permission.

Where the competent tax collection official suspends the execution of a warrant for inspection, search, seizure or seizure with a recording order, the official may, if necessary, close the place or post a guard until the execution is completed.

Where the competent tax collection official has conducted a search and there is no evidence or article to be confiscated, the official must, at the request of the person subject to the search, issue a certificate to that effect.

When the competent tax collection official has conducted questioning under the provisions of this Subsection, the official must prepare a record thereof, have the person questioned inspect it or read it aloud to that person, ask whether there are any errors, and, if the person questioned has made a statement of addition, deletion or alteration, enter that statement in the record, and sign and seal it together with the person questioned; provided, however, that if the person questioned does not sign and seal it or is unable to do so, it suffices to add a note to that effect.

When the competent tax collection official has conducted an inspection or retention under the provisions of this Subsection, the official must prepare a record thereof and sign and seal it.

When the competent tax collection official has conducted an on-site inspection, search, seizure or seizure with a recording order under the provisions of this Subsection, the official must prepare a record thereof, show it to the witness, and sign and seal it together with the witness; provided, however, that if the witness does not sign and seal it or is unable to do so, it suffices to add a note to that effect.

If the head of a local government requires an investigation of a criminal tax case outside the area of that local government, the head may entrust it to the head of the local government of that place.

If the competent tax collection official becomes convinced, through the investigation of a criminal tax case concerning a local tax other than an indirect local tax, that an offense has been committed, the official must file an accusation with a public prosecutor.

When the competent tax collection official has completed the investigation of a criminal tax case concerning an indirect local tax, the official must report the results of the investigation to the head of the local government to which the official belongs; provided, however, that in any of the following cases, the official must immediately file an accusation with a public prosecutor:

when the residence of the suspect is unknown;

when the suspect is likely to flee; or

when there is a risk that anything found to serve as evidence will be destroyed.

When the head of a local government becomes convinced, through the investigation of a criminal tax case concerning an indirect local tax, that an offense has been committed, the head must, clearly indicating the reasons, notify in writing that the amount equivalent to the fine, the articles subject to confiscation, the amount equivalent to the collection of equivalent value, and the costs incurred for the service of documents and for the transportation and custody of seized articles or articles seized with a recording order are to be paid at the designated place. In this case, with regard to the articles subject to confiscation, the head may give notification that only an offer to pay them is to be made.

In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, if the head of a local government finds that any of the following items applies, the head must immediately file an accusation with a public prosecutor, notwithstanding the provisions of that paragraph:

when the circumstances warrant punishment by imprisonment; or

when the offender lacks the financial means to comply with the notification.

When a notification under the provisions of paragraph (1) contains a miscalculation, clerical error or any other similar obvious error, the head of a local government may correct that notification ex officio until the offender complies with that notification or until an accusation is filed pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph or the following Article.

When a notification has been given pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), the statute of limitations for prosecution stops running, and resumes running from the time when 20 days have elapsed counting from the day following the day on which the offender received that notification.

If the offender has complied with the notification referred to in paragraph (1) (if a correction has been made pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3), the notification as corrected; the same applies in the following paragraph and paragraph (1) of the following Article), no prosecution is to be instituted against the offender for the same case.

In the case where the offender has complied with the notification referred to in the second sentence of paragraph (1), if the offender possesses the articles subject to confiscation, the offender has the obligation to keep them in custody until a public auction or any other necessary disposition is made; provided, however, that the offender may not claim the costs required for that custody.

In the case where the offender has received the notification referred to in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article (if a correction has been made pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3) of that Article, that correction; referred to as a "notification, etc." in this Article), if the offender fails to comply with the notification within 20 days counting from the day following the day on which the offender received that notification, etc., the head of a local government must file an accusation with a public prosecutor; provided, however, that this does not apply if the offender complies before the accusation even after that period has elapsed.

The same applies as in the preceding paragraph when a notification, etc. cannot be given because the residence of the offender is unknown, because the offender has refused to receive the documents pertaining to the notification, etc., or for any other reason.

A criminal tax case concerning an indirect local tax may be prosecuted only upon an accusation filed by the competent tax collection official under the proviso to Article 22-27, or an accusation filed by the head of a local government under Article 22-28, paragraph (2) or the preceding Article.

An accusation under the provisions of Article 22-26 or the accusation referred to in the preceding paragraph must be made in writing, with the records prescribed in the paragraphs of Article 22-24 attached, and, if there are retained articles, seized articles or articles seized with a recording order, they must be transferred to a public prosecutor together with the inventory of retained articles, the inventory of seized articles or the inventory of articles seized with a recording order.

If the retained articles, seized articles or articles seized with a recording order referred to in the preceding paragraph are in custody under the provisions of Article 22-16, paragraph (1), they must be transferred together with the custody certificate referred to in that paragraph, and notice to that effect must be given to the person who was made to keep those articles under the provisions of that paragraph.

If retained articles, seized articles or articles seized with a recording order have been transferred under the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, those articles are deemed to have been seized by a public prosecutor under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The accusation referred to in paragraph (1) may not be withdrawn.

If the head of a local government has investigated a criminal tax case concerning an indirect local tax and is not convinced that an offense has been committed, the head must notify the suspect to that effect. In this case, if articles have been retained or seized, or a seizure with a recording order has been made, the head must order its release.